#mom this is your fault

[logosbot-tm]

Man I fkn love old cars

[maxgicalgirl]

Being a “Fun Fact !” kind of autistic is all fun and games until you get halfway through sharing an interesting tidbit and realize that it probably wasn’t appropriate to share in polite company and now you have to deal with the consequences :(

[avicecaro]

hate to say it, but part of ending the stigma around sexual assault means not assuming every woman blames herself. yes, female socialization encourages it, but that doesn’t make it a given, and the goal of all of these campaigns is to eventually diminish the proportion of women who do blame themselves. it is entirely possible, and increasingly common, for women to experience sexual assault and not feel shame or guilt, which we should be happy about. but instead, there are only so many times you can hear “you know it’s not your fault, right?” before it sounds like “it was your fault”. and there’s only so many times you can hear “don’t blame yourself” before it sounds like “you should blame yourself”. because it feels good to say, doesn’t it? sure, you don’t believe she’s guilty, but you do believe she should feel guilty, so that you can disabuse her of the notion. just something to consider.

[thesmokinpossum]

If My Body Could Speak, Blythe Baird | The Godfather, Mario Puzo | My Father's House, Sylvia Fraser | To The Daughter Who Secretly Longs For Her Mother’s Affection, Lynne Shako | Storms from Jupiter, Wanda Deglane | DO NOT REPLY, @filmnoirsbian

[baejax-the-great]

The "pulling a Bharv" scene honestly demonstrates so much that is wrong with the character-writing in this game, but I want to focus on the very end of it.

Narratively, after teaching the audience something like "pulling a Bharv" AKA doing pushups to show you mean your apology, you want to have one of the audience stand-ins then participate in the ritual. It makes the scene more satisfying and feel less like a random lecture. (Though...)

However, "pulling a Bharv" requires a character apologizing for committing a wrong, and one thing Veilguard cannot tolerate is any of the companion characters doing anything hurtful, ignorant, prejudiced, or otherwise incorrect.

So what do they do? They have Bellara apologize for eating food that was meant to be shared at a gathering of friends.

Unless you are from Minnesota*, which I'm fairly certain Bellara is not if only based on her accent and not the fact that Thedas doesn't have a Minnesota, eating food at a party is not something you are ever expected to apologize for. She didn't eat all of Taash's favorite food. She didn't sneak the food before the party or cut a piece of birthday cake before the candles have even been lit. She didn't go into someone else's pantry and take some random item of food that wasn't meant for the party.

The food had been served. Presumably it had been out there for a while, because we join the scene as things seem to be winding down. The food is available, it is for Bellara to eat, and she eats some. It is a completely non-objectionable action, the only kinds of actions Veilguard companions are allowed to take.

She still has to apologize for the scene to work, however, so she does. Bizarrely, this has the outcome of making Taash come off as a bully, because what kind of immature jackass gets upset that someone ate the provided food at a party? How domineering is Taash that Bellara immediately resorts to apologizing and placating them in order to avoid their anger?

It also makes the scene nonsensical and makes the gathering seem like a complete drag. Feel free not to invite Rook to these ever again, thanks.

*If you are from Minnesota, eating the last piece of food off a shared plate is punishable by being immediately ejected from Minnesota, but most people do not consider this much of a hardship.

[ask-the-colony-tree-siblings]

Hey, Hunter!

Aside from the chronic back pain, what other long lasting symptoms did you have from the Rot, if any?

((Okay! So my attempt to answer this somehow developed into a rant about Hunter’s characterization so… here you go lol.))

So I have to answer this on Hunter’s behalf, because part of his character is that he doesn’t like to admit any sort of weakness. Apart from chronic pain, I essentially just gave him the symptoms of low iron. He gets light headed and dizzy, and he is often tired or low energy. 

Hunter has this mindset that being weak, or showing weakness makes you useless. (I wonder what could have possibly made him develop that way of thinking. Surely nothing to do with the way he was raised and treated growing up.) Keep in mind, Hunter’s very logical logic only applies to him. He wouldn’t judge Survivor for not being strong, Hunter just has unhealthy expectations of himself that definitely aren’t realistic anymore with his post-rot symptoms, and were never actually that realistic to begin with.

He has a habit of ignoring his own symptoms, and pretending to be perfectly fine when he isn’t. He’d never admit it if his chronic pain is making it difficult for him to function properly. 

(His physical health is one thing, but don’t even get me started on how Hunter views his mental health lmao.)

Uhhh anyways bonus light headed/dizzy Hunter:

[bugwolfsstuff]

I will never like or forgive Luke mostly because he is the reason Castor is never gonna see their dad again

Like its assumed that Dionysus had a good relationship with his kids.

And yeah Castor will have Pollux in the future but they're never gonna see their dad again.

They're dead and Dionysus is deathless

They're dead and never gets to see the parent they loved because Luke hated his parent

[rewrittenmha]

Entrance Exam Arc

First official post of the blog! So exciting. Of course we're starting from the very beginning.

I don't have much to change here. The Entrance Exam arc isn't perfect, but it does pretty well as an exposition. I only have a few minor changes.

Instead of opening on Izuku's way to school, I would show more of his life with Inko. Nothing really significant, just her making breakfast for him and showing concern for how withdrawn he tends to be. I would also make her more aware of Izuku being bullied, just not the fact that it's Bakugou specifically. Here, she has actually tried to get the school to interfere only for them to promise to do so and not follow through. Instead, they talk to Bakugou and have him "tone it down," so Bakugou stops being as physically aggressive and turns to being verbally nasty.

(I would also have Inko consider moving because of the bullying, only to be unable to afford it. It's really hard to gauge the Midoriyas' financial status, but I'd peg them as maybe being just above the Uraraka's? It's said that Hisashi is working in America, so it's likely he sends money to them but not enough for them to live comfortably anywhere else)

One thing I would also amend is All Might leaving Izuku on top of the roof by himself. In my version, he walks him down and then leaves to hand in the sludge villain.

Then mostly everything happens the same. I would add more of Izuku and All Might bonding, having heart-to-heart conversations, etc. instead of just training. Aso basic combat training.

At some point, show more quirkless discrimination instead of just saying it exists. I would love a scene of All Might witnessing it (maybe someone makes a comment towards Izuku or another quirkless person) and it's an eye-opener for him because he never realized how much worse it got after he was given One For All.

Other than that, I really don't have a lot of beef with this arc. It's the right combination of cheesy and heartfelt and sets up the inequality within society. It began the story with such a nice tone, it's such a shame it was all ruined.

Feel free to add any thoughts or suggestions in the comments or reblogs. I'm also gonna be opening my inbox back up

[cvnt4him]

So

I was in the car w my mom bc I can't drive nor do I have a car or a license...haha!!!! And her fuck ass boyfriend???? Was in the front seat and my brother was in his designated seat which is behind the passenger, so I was forced to sit behind my mom which I had no problem with besides the fact that the car had gotten reared and yk now it's kind of fucked, the door creaks n shit yk it's..bad. but anyways, so we were driving and as we were going down like road humps and shit the car would scrape bc you know...it's fucking wrecked. My mom's first thing was from now on I would have to sit behind the passenger seat because I was the "heaviest" !!!!!! Fucking killing myself

[lunar-years]

I think it’s *ahem* interesting that the same portion of the fandom that understands how Ted’s poor mental health and under-addressed trauma negatively impact his life and worsen his decision making also tend to treat Dottie Lasso like she’s the devil incarnate who’s single-handedly destroyed her son and his wellbeing. There’s this group of fans who both acknowledge Ted’s mental health journey as an imperative part of his arc and journey (which it is!) and excuse a lot of his behavior, particularly when it comes to the ways in which his mental health at its worst inarguably lessens his ability to be a present and effective parent to his son. They actively encourage him NOT to return home to son because “he finally has the chance to prioritize himself and needs to take it” or whatever, then turn around and say Dottie’s an irredeemably horrible evil witch who spends her time manipulating Ted and toying with his feelings. Ignoring completely that she’s also a women with a heck of a lot of under addressed trauma who’s gone without the resources to help herself and presumably also carries the baggage of growing up under a “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” mentality. Which is not to say I don’t think a lot of Dottie does is net bad/harmful! It totally is! And Ted is 100% in the right for confronting her and calling her out for the ways in which her inability to discuss what happened to their family has longterm fucked with his head. I just also think Dottie is also in the right for calling out Ted and the net negative effect his absence is having on Henry.

The thing about that scene is that they are both simultaneously wrong and right! But what makes it an effective conversation is that hell, at least now they’re talking about it! And airing out their baggage (hopefully) jumpstarts a positive change for both of them to do better for one another and their wider family. Because yes, I do think the conversation with Dottie contributed to Ted’s decision to return home…but unlike others, I think that is a good thing! The end of Ted’s story on the show is that he’s gotten the help Dottie never did (either because she didn’t know those resources were available to her, or the stigma around mental health dissuaded her, or whatever) and he’s all the better for it! By showing up in London, I do think there’s evidence that Dottie is also trying. Like sure, yes, she’s often misguided and faulty in her efforts. But she and Ted are much more similar than they are different. Both do a ton of masking to hid their own problems. Both are two imperfect people who made decisions they *thought* were right for their children only to later realize they’d fallen short as parents. And I think by the end of Mom City it’s safe to say that both are people who want to recognize their failings as parents and rectify what they can.

So yeah Dottie Lasso they could never make me hate you. Or whatever.

[leconcombrerit]

Look I get the scorn some people have for Tattoo and I was not immune to a stern face of silent disappointment myself upon watching, however.

However.

Let's keep in mind that, for him, this whole ordeal gets him back to square one. The one where Hope was beating the shit out of him while threatening his mother. Joke's high principles and cool heist to get precious items back to their owners is nice, but you don't live off generosity. Jack is kind and closer to their situation, but he's not like them either. He can work for Boss. He's not in immediate physical danger.

What they did so far brings him nothing. And he bled for it. Got in danger for it.

Honestly I think this man wants to do good, but on impulse or his back against the wall he will do what he feels he must. And he feels his back is constantly against the wall, and he sees everyone judging him for what he thinks is the only way out, and boy did he get mad at Hoy for this.

He strikes me as the type who's used to take care of people. Of making the hard calls to keep them safe. Took on his father's debt with his mom, but shoulders it all on himself and protects her. Protects Hoy, too. I mean Tattoo is both dumb and smart but Hoy is. Well. He's got a good heart but he's not the sharpest egg in the attic. It was Tattoo running to help him too.

It's like everyone around him can afford high principles and moral highground but he can't. And that was probably true for most of his life, so I don't blame him. I just wished he realised he has other friends now. Friends who won't let him down (which I think is starting to finally sink in). That he can afford friends and trust. Open up a bit.

On that point, I think Joke going along with his obvious lies is such a great big deal. Like. That was the one thing he could do that would help Tattoo's issues here, namely with shame and feeling judged and wrong. Joke doesn't ask for any explanation. He doesn't take any easy jab. Doesn't get mad. It screams 'I understand, you do not need to justify yourself, I do not judge you, with no need to bare your heart and struggles', which. Might have brought a manly tear in my eye. Cause that's the opposite of what Tattoo has repeatedly said about Joke so far.

...... I don't even know where I'm going anymore, but I love this little man with all my heart. He wants to be a good person and a good friend too, he just hasn't realized he can afford it yet and I will die on this hill.

Also he's going to be so pissed when he falls for Arun, someone get me popcorn.

[britcision]

Someone confiscate the Kabumisu Rapunzel AU from me, I am not starting a long form anything until my DPxDC novel is done but also I am ONLY capable of doing it wrong

Because:

Kabru MUST be Rapunzel. Mandatory. Milsiril is not letting that little bitch out of her tower. (Also his Main Character Energy)

Mithrun has less than zero drive to do anything ever up to and including wandering around in lonely tower infested woods to find said lost princess

These can only be resolved by Mithrun also already being inside the tower and then we’re into Beauty and The Beast territory too with the Forbidden Room but instead of Cursed Flower there is Cursed Hottie

Tbh Labrumisu would solve this problem where’s my threesome shippers we need ONE (1) character with some goddamn initiative

(Sadly still can’t be me I do not ship Laios in general he’s just not got that Ship Juice)

Milsiril just has such perfect villain vibes and okay I’m selling myself on the Labrumisu because if Laios comes in to kidnap one of her babies (and her broken former coworker) there’s a 50-50 on whether Milsiril just decides he’s young enough to adopt

This is now a main character hoarding situation Falin and Marcille have to come rescue Laios and also his boyfriends from the crazy sword elf and her army of dolls

Which is why I can’t write this one.

Look at that.

Look what happened in like 5 bullet points.

The rails have been OBLITERATED but also it’s just got such good legs someone take this idea and run with it to somewhere very different and much simpler than I am capable of

[iinryer]

sorry for bringing stupid shit here but i saw people on twitter talking about how they don’t understand how people could like lena. like, oh you don’t like the abrasive woman? why is that. quickly

[moeblob]

You know, when I kept getting asked "so you didn't ever have severe pains before now?" in the hospital and I kept replying "I have a high pain tolerance" I meant it. However, there is only so much pain my tiny 4'9" body can hold... (aka I am sweating and in agony bc I'm getting told to use LESS severe pain meds so I don't rely on them too much and it is AWFUL)

[whetstonefires]

I think a part of the reason I feel so connected to JGY and XY is that I, too, think everyone is lying about what a good person they are. Sure, there may be a few genuinely good people, but those are in the minority and never claim the title.

I don't know about never; some people are pretty straightforward.

And in some ways the whole point of the concept of 'a good person' is that the feeling of losing the right to consider yourself one can impose instinctive recoil from doing wrong, in situations where you don't have the leisure of working your way through an ethics diagram and choosing the logically moral path before reacting to a situation. It has practical utility.

But that system can backfire pretty horribly too, in a lot of ways. It can be hijacked by definitions of 'good' that actually make you recoil from ethical acts because they're deviant. It can lead to disappearing up your own ass lmao.

And definitely the threshold for 'talking about how you're a good person' enough that it makes you suspect as either a) a liar or b) someone who values that self-image over objective reality and other people's wellbeing is. Not very high.

Jin Guangyao, ironically, is one of those people who's so performatively A Good Person in his public life that in retrospect it looks like a red flag. Which knowing this about himself in an ongoing fashion ofc just reinforces his own cynicism about everyone else lmao.

Even Lan Xichen, who I think he may see as a genuinely good person, he also sees as an easy mark who will reliably choose what is comfortable over what is 'right,' if you just structure the scenario to make that an easy choice that's easy for him to justify.

Xue Yang's bitterness is in many ways more exciting than Jin Guangyao's because he has a way more unusual relationship to reality, but it does share a lot of notes.

The role of deception in his psychology fascinates me because as far as I can tell he's as instinctively straightforward a person as Lan Wangji, albeit along quite different lines involving a total lack of impulse control, but has adopted 'deceit' as a weapon against the wicked world in the same way he has adopted 'murder.'

But when he feels someone is not merely lying but papering over bad behavior with principles they are not living up to he is livid.

People claiming to be better than him because they're 'good' when 'good' is a construct of privilege, is the underlying idea he's not equipped to articulate. Except he takes that and applies it to 'hitting me to interrupt my random murder of some guy who happened to be within arm's reach when I wanted to hurt someone.'

Which isn't like philosophically perfect, but the underlying problem he's actually reacting to is that he understands the social contract as a lie that has never protected him but seeks to control him, while protecting rich men it has no power to control.

Which it is fair to be mad about, but then his feeling is that since that's the nature of the world and all people, he is entitled to amass for himself the power to inflict hurt without consequences as much as he possibly can, and to use it against the vulnerable for fun, and no one is entitled to interfere.

Which brings him to a place where he is violently angry at anyone talking about trying to treat other people well as a value, because either they're a hypocrite and a liar or they threaten his entire system of rationalization for why he can be The Worst and still In The Right.

'Everyone is equally bad, actually' is like, an understandable take for anyone who's had cause to become embittered. Everyone is free to make whatever philosophical peace they can with the world and by and large there's no ethical weight to any such opinion, in itself.

But it's an ideological crutch people tend to wind up leaning on very heavily when they can't or don't want to take responsibility for their own behavior.

Which is an approach that Xue Yang, Jin Guangyao, and Su She all share, and which not only is shitty of them, it...traps them in a wheel of doubling down on their own worst impulses because rather than going 'that was bad and I shouldn't do it again' they've repeatedly invested all this energy into making what they did actually the correct thing, according to their interpretation of the context. Which means they're more likely to do it again.

(I think this is how Jin Guangyao became a serial killer, for example. He followed a doing-a-murder-impulse and then internally doubled down on how he had nothing to be ashamed of, so he was more likely to do it again, every time.

Wei Wuxian's strain of self-righteousness about his revenge was less...thorough than Jin Guangyao's, because he had the benefit of going after people on the opposite side of a war from him while Meng Yao's first known murder plot was against a shitty boss. But it probably didn't help him not try to solve army-shaped problems with mass murder, even after that stopped being allowed.)

If any of them had just like, zero moral sensibilities they would have created very different problems, and very possibly fewer of them. It's making a central goal of your operations 'self-vindication in your own internal narrative, created retroactively via reframing' rather than 'figuring out what I think I should do and trying to do that' that traps them in the self-reinforcing murder pissbaby vortex.

So if you look at it one way, these three villains are themselves perfect examples of how pursuit of the 'feeling of being good' (or at least 'not the bad guy') can make you worse.

Notably Wei Wuxian was also extremely sensitive to hypocrisy in his youth; it was the only part of Madam Yu's behavior he was ever shown objecting to. But he's sufficiently mellow and cynical from regret and burnout by the 'present' timespan after his resurrection to just get disgusted and alienated about it, rather than outraged.

He wasn't even all that mad at Xue Yang, though honestly that may be partly because he stopped entirely characterizing him as a person at some point during their interaction. Like, there's no point being angry at someone whose moral sensibilities operate exclusively on the plane of 'is this unfair to me' for manipulating and destroying people who were good to him, and then getting obsessed with his own self-pity about it. This is not a person who understands how not to be, metaphorically speaking, a cannibal.

And Wei Wuxian did know better and still got roughly the same result, so what business does he have getting angry?

Anyway yeah those two villains are both delightfully relatable if you sit down and put their perspectives together; they are clearly operating with the same basic suite of human needs and emotions as everybody else, without that being in itself particularly exculpatory, which is honestly refreshing. They've just got the most fantastically toxic interpersonal habits that knowing them counts as some level of Suffering A Curse.

Jin Guangyao and Xue Yang do both stand as scathing rebukes of the society that created them. But within the narrative, wherein they're people, the fact is that each of them had agency and one of the things they chose to do with it was develop rationales for why they were the most special little guy and everything was someone else's fault.

And their moral nihilisms, while also grounded in serious trauma, ping me as emotional masturbation of this variety.

[mysicklove]

i sent my mommy the super sexy hot calvin klein video and she didn’t respond 😔😔😔😔😔😔